Lawyer Resources forNevada

When state officials see an incident involving poor care at a nursing home, they really have several tools in their arsenal to eradicate the problem.

Depending on the severity of the violation, state officials generally elect to cite and / or fine the facility. If deemed necessary, officials may choose to conduct follow-up inspections at the facility to ensure that compliance is maintained.

In addition, state officials also have the ability to pull the license from the facility effectively forcing the facility to close its doors and cease operation. While such procedures may seem to be under-utilized, nursing home closures are usually viewed as a last ditch effort.

When it comes to nursing home litigation, patient records really are the Holy Grail. Patient records are important in both assessing the initial case as well as determining how to proceed from a litigation standpoint.

In my nursing home injury practice, one of the first things I suggest families do is to obtain a copy of their loved one’s medical chart from the facility in order to evaluate the potential case. In my experience, requesting a copy of the patient’s chart as soon after an event, increases the likelihood of the facility providing a complete and accurate chart from the facility.

Unfortunately, as time goes on, some facilities incorporate procedures to ‘thin’ patient charts– destroying information that they may not be obligated to keep pursuant to the law. Further, being the cynic that I am, I tend to see records altered the longer the delay is between the time of the incident and the record request.